4Talent games development day in Scotland

16-to-25 year-olds offered opportunity to network and take part in workshops with industry professionals

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Channel 4’s talent scheme, 4Talent, will hold a talent day in Dundee this month.

The talent day, which takes place on at the University of Abertay Dundee on October 17th, will focus on games development.

Aimed at 16 to 25-year-olds, the day will be an opportunity to network with local creative businesses, take part in hands-on workshops with professionals and the possibility of gaining work experience placements.

Local industry experts include: guest industry speaker, Paul Farley of Dundee-based Tag Games; masterclasses with Rad Miller of Pocket Projects and Rad Miller Films on image capture and green screen; Tom Barrett of No Tosh on how to create a positive digital footprint; and Jeremiah Alexander games designer and digital entrepreneur on games development.

The Channel 4 speaker will be Glynn Ryland, industry talent manager at the channel – and Colin Macdonald, commissioning editor for games at Channel 4, will deliver the ‘My Job, My Journey’ talk and share his employment journey which began in his home town of Dundee.

Attending one of the 4Talent days automatically qualifies young people to apply for the Channel 4 work experience scheme, which the media company says 42 per cent of participants find further experience or employment in the industry as a result.

“At Channel 4 we know that good ideas can come from anywhere. The creative industries have huge potential to provide growth and employment, and we want to make sure that nobody is excluded from that and this is why we are taking our 4Talent Days to more unexpected places around the UK,” said Diane Herbert, director of human resources at Channel 4.

“This year in Derry-Londonderry, Dundee, Barnsley, Cardiff and Penzance we are looking for new talent with fresh perspectives.

“We want to connect this talent to Channel 4, but also to the local creative industries on their doorstep, who will be joining us for these inspiring days.”

Gregor White, from Abertay University’s Institute of Arts, Media and Computer Games, added: “We’re delighted to partner with Channel 4 for the 4Talent day in Dundee, giving local young people the chance to meet creative industry experts and learn how they too can unleash their creativity and build a career.

“Abertay University is extremely proud to be a hub for the creative industries, delivering internationally renowned education and helping our students join world-leading companies and start their own businesses.”

The 4Talent Day takes place on Wednesday, October 17th, 2012, from 8.45am at the Hannah Maclure Centre, Dundee.